Are We Really Ready For A PS4?

It was a no brainer that Sony was already working on their next gen console, but it's nice to see it go from rumor to official. If you haven't heard, Sony had an investment meeting yesterday that confirmed the news. With Nintendo planning to announce their next gen console at E3, and Microsoft asking for next gen engineers back it March, it's nice to see Sony drop some hints. So it looks like the next generation of consoles is coming sooner rather than later. Should we be excited?

Concept image of what the PlayStation 4 could look like. Created by Tai Chiem.

If you're one of the lucky few flushed with cash, then you should be very excited. For the rest of us unlucky schlubs, the next round of consoles may spell disaster. The Playstation 3 came out at a whopping $599. Sony had sunk so much into developing the cell processor and Blu-ray drive that they couldn't sell it for any lower. Not only that, Sony has only recently started turning a profit on the PlayStation 3. Sony stated that it learned it's lessons and will keep R&D to a minimum. They can't be following that promise too well if rising costs sparked questions in their investment meeting. The last thing anyone wants is to shell out $999 for a new console.

There are also the games to consider. As the quality of gaming increases, so do the costs. It takes a lot more money and time to create a 3D game with surround sound, multiplayer and cutting edge graphics than it does to create a PS 1 game. The game won't swallow this cost, which is why we're paying $60 a game, instead of paying $50 like we did for last generation games. With the new round of consoles, games could soar to $75 or more. That would seriously curb anyone's gaming mojo.

Lucky for us, Sony states that it is sticking with its ten your life-cycle for the PS3. Traditionally, console cycles have lasted only 5 years, but we've seen Sony keep the PS2 alive and well for much longer. They should have no problem doing the same with the PS3. So if the PlayStation 4 comes out sooner than later, you can sleep safe knowing that Sony will continue to support the PlayStation 3. As for when Sony will release the console, their lips are sealed. They might not even say much about it at E3, focusing more on the current generation and their NGP. Do you want to see the PS4 come out next year? What improvements would it have to have in order to make it worth it? Let us know in the comments!